Grief

Jake has fallen head over heels for Dandelion. The only problem? Dandelion is dead.

Thirty-year-old Poppy has lost her charming, larger-than-life older sister Dandelion seven months ago. Still drowning in grief, Poppy is stuck—can’t move forward, can’t let go. She’s also stuck in a going-nowhere relationship with smug fiancé Sam who’s pushing for marriage. When Poppy discovers unanswered messages from a charming stranger named Jake on her late sister’s dating app, she makes an impulsive choice: She’ll meet him, just once, on what would have been Dandelion’s fortieth birthday. It’s exactly the kind of wild adventure her vivacious sister would have pushed her toward.

Jake, a 40-year-old single dad filmmaker, is ready to find something real—and not least because his ex-wife’s twentysomething boyfriend has moved into their old family home. When he meets the intriguing woman who calls herself Dandelion, their connection is undeniable, electric, and he can think of little else. Poppy accidentally catfishes Jake. As their relationship deepens online and in person, Poppy finds herself trapped in a double life she never meant to create. Every moment with Jake feels genuine and totally right—despite the fact they’re tangled in deceit. She wears Dandelion’s clothes, adopts her confidence, becomes the bold person she never was. As lines between grief and love blur, Poppy faces a choice: keep her sister’s memory alive through her lies, or risk everything for a chance at her own happiness? But the longer the deception continues, the harder it becomes to untangle truth from fiction, self from sister, grief from desire.

The Plot/Key Appeal: Debut novel that’s “wildly entertaining and crackling with life” (Claire Daverley). Messy, character-driven contemporary fiction—think indie movie aesthetic, raw and quirky with lots of heart. Storey’s witty, sharp prose alternates between crude hilarity and surprisingly eloquent observations. The catfishing premise could be creepy, but Storey handles it with nuance—Poppy isn’t malicious, she’s trying to feel close to her sister again, borrowing Dandelion’s confidence and way of being in the world. Both frustrating and deeply sympathetic protagonist.

Jake is also flawed—middle-aged man past his prime, dead dreams, growing paunch. Their relationship is genuinely sexy and emotionally real despite foundation of lies. Novel divided into three parts: The Lie, More Lies, The Truth. Readers know it gets worse before resolution. Set in London with very British messiness—characters drink too much, use recreational drugs, cheat, lie, fall over, yet remain lovable. Explores: grief doesn’t make people behave perfectly, it makes them strange and impulsive. Sisterhood at emotional center even though Dandelion is dead—she feels very present through memories. Relationship isn’t idealized; it’s loving, complicated, sometimes tense, deeply believable.

Why It’s Trending:

• Released January 13, 2026. Debut novel.


• January 2026 Indie Next Pick.


• Jenny Jackson (Pineapple Street): “funny book about grief, honest book about lying, heartbreaking book about finding love…captivating, generous, deeply alive.”


• People: “tale of romantic and sisterly love seamlessly combines humor and heartbreak.”


• Entertainment Weekly: “almost made me redownload Hinge ‘for the plot.'”


• Reader’s Digest: “perfect for fans of messy, character-driven conflict.”


• Publishers Weekly, Booklist starred reviews. Compared to Dolly Alderton, Nora Ephron for humor-heartbreak balance.


• NPR featured author interview.

For fans of: unconventional romance, grief stories, dark comedy, morally gray characters, books that make you uncomfortable but can’t look away.

Book clubs will have INTENSE discussions about: catfishing ethics, grief coping mechanisms, identity, lies vs. truth, complicated sisterhood, when does love excuse deception?